The Gartner Magic Quadrant for North American help desk outsourcing services is designed to help you identify and evaluate help desk outsourcing external service providers (ESPs) for your enterprise. The ESPs in this Magic Quadrant can provide help desk services, but their competencies and offerings vary. Clients must base their selections on detailed evaluations of their outsourcing objectives and technical requirements, as well as the ESP's ability to fulfill those expectations.

As previously reported, the help desk outsourcing service market is mature; still, we deleted three service providers and added two Indian providers. Even with these changes, there were only minor shifts with previous Magic Quadrant participants. Also, because this market is mature, self-help tools, alternative contact methods (such as e-mail, instant messaging and Web access), and Web scoreboards to report help desk service-level results are all common service offerings.

In addition, service providers are using Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices to help standardize practices and reduce costs. This year, most service providers have obtained ITIL certification or are working toward being certified.

The weak economy exerts continued pressure to keep help desk costs low. This has driven many providers to offer alternative geographic locations to host their help desk agents. These locations may be onshore, "nearshore" or offshore. We continue to see mixed results with the offshore alternative, but the service providers are working hard to improve the quality (see "Help Desk Outsourcing: Offshore Issues" for more details). To avoid problems, clients should review service providers' skills and incident resolution experience when deciding on delivery locations.

As in the past, the help desk outsourcing capabilities vary among ESPs, and some concentrate on specific vertical markets or end-user roles. We have noted these vertical markets for the service providers, when appropriate.

Overall, clients are generally very satisfied with the ESP adoption of methodologies, processes and services to deliver better service. As in the previous year, a heavy concentration of service providers falls into the Challengers and Leaders quadrants (see Figure 1).

The North American help desk management service market will grow at a 4.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $9 billion in 2006 to $11.5 billion in 2011. In 2008, the worldwide market for help desk outsourcing was $17 billion, and in North America, it was $10.1 billion.

Gartner defines "help desk services" as the provision of end-user support for all IT services. Services include:

• Help desk
• First-level support
• Second-level support
• Problem management
• Problem categorization and logging
• Problem tracking and escalation
• Problem resolution

For this Magic Quadrant, we required a formal presentation from each participating ESP and asked each to provide a list of five North American references. We used the presentations and references, along with other Gartner analysts' industry knowledge, to determine the final assessments of each ESP. Each component of our analysis was weighted in the following manner:

• References counted for 70% of the score. We contacted references to gather information about their experiences with their ESPs.
• Vendor presentations counted for 20% of the score. Vendors described their capabilities and provided strategic directions for their help desk service businesses.
• Gartner analysts' assessments counted for 10% of the score.

As part of the reference checks, we interviewed end users in 124 organizations, which had the following characteristics:

• Organizations ranged in size from slightly fewer than 525 users to more than 175,000 users.
• More than 80% of the organizations used the same provider for desktop and help desk support. Less than 20% used a provider only for help desk services. This increased from the previous year because more Indian providers are offering only help desk services.
• Forty-five percent of the organizations relied on the same provider for other IT services beyond the desktop and help desk services.
• The organizations represented every industry segment, including financial services; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals; government (including federal, state and local); and educational institutions.
• More than 98% of the end users had formal service-level agreements (SLAs).
• More than 97% of the SLAs included penalties for underperformance, and almost 70% of the deals included earn-back opportunities — a significant increase from 2008.
• More than 40% of the SLAs had incentives for overperformance.

The compilation of the results from the presentations and reference checks led to the final placement of the ESPs in the Magic Quadrant. The positioning reflects their completeness of vision and ability to execute.

This Magic Quadrant relied heavily on checking ESP-supplied customer references. Participating ESPs were required to have at least $15 million in help desk service revenue from North American clients and to supply five references. If qualified service providers would not actively participate in the study, we elected to include these service providers based on Gartner's belief that the ESPs were well-known. They were evaluated based on analysts' knowledge of the market and on feedback from clients.

This year, we added three new Indian help desk providers. Patni Computer Systems, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro Technologies are now included because they meet the revenue and reference criteria.

This year, we deleted four providers: Getronics, HP, Lockheed Martin and SAIC. Getronics sold off its North American services to CompuCom. After acquiring EDS, HP decided to use the EDS company for outsourcing services. Lockheed Martin and SAIC did not wish to participate, and we are not getting any requests for clients regarding their help desk or desktop support service offerings.

Each ESP's ability to execute was analyzed based on the following criteria:

• Product or service:
  • Effective resourcing
  • Transition management
• Sales execution/pricing:
  • Contract/deal structure
  • Pricing acceptance
• Marketing execution:
  • Clarity of services, roles and responsibilities
  • Client delivery model/relationship management
• Customer experience
• Operations:
  • SLAs, metrics and measurement programs
  • Expertise with technical support/operations/tools
• Market responsiveness and track record:
  • Client innovation
• Overall viability (business unit, financial, strategy and organization)

The Ability to Execute axis positions each ESP, based on its success in delivering results, as well as its preparation to deliver results in the future. Gartner verifies an ESP's capability to deliver help desk services through extensive interviews with the ESP's clients and references.

ESPs were evaluated on the quality and efficacy of the processes, systems, methods or procedures that enable them to perform competitively, efficiently and effectively. They were also evaluated on their ability to have a positive effect on revenue, retention and reputation. Ultimately, ESPs were judged on their capability and success in capitalizing on their vision.

Each criterion is ranked high, standard or low in importance and scored accordingly.

Criteria Ranked High

Sales Execution/Pricing: We examine each ESP's capabilities in all presales activities and the structures that support them. This includes deal management, pricing and negotiation. The areas we review are:

• Contract/deal structure: We ask each ESP to explain the management of various contracts and how the relationship is structured to meet the needs of both parties. We also ask, "How do your deals support the service recipient's and service provider's strategic goals? Is there a shared vision? Do you have a process to ensure that the visions remain aligned over the life of the contract? From a contractual point of view, how can you provide flexibility and agility in the provision of help desk services?"
• Pricing acceptance: We evaluate each ESP's capability to manage price and reduce costs (through new service offerings, improved productivity, management tools, quality, resource allocation or staff reductions). This information is key in outsourcing deals where the prime objective is gaining economies of scale. We also examine each ESP's pricing schemes and their clarity. We ask, "How are the various services priced? Are there add-on costs? Do you provide price justification based on business value to your customers?"

Marketing Execution: We explore the clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programs designed to deliver each ESP's message to influence the market, promote the brand and business, increase awareness of the service solutions, and establish a positive identification with the service solutions/brand and organization among buyers. This "mind share" can be driven by a combination of publicity, promotions, thought leadership, word of mouth and sales activities. We evaluate two primary areas:

• Clarity of services, roles and responsibilities: As part of a comprehensive governance effort, ESPs must be willing to establish clear roles and responsibility matrices. This will avoid confusion among the parties, reduce duplication of roles, eliminate unclear responsibilities, and optimize decision making and project management processes. We ask, "What statement of work (SOW) structures describe the services offered? Do you have a standard format? If so, what is included? Is there a formal communication process to interact with the client?" We also ask each ESP to explain its relationship management role and how it supports what needs to be done for various service recipients.
• Client delivery model/relationship management: We examine each ESP's delivery capabilities and practices for help desk services, CRM and knowledge transfer, as well as quality control and quality assurance. We evaluate the ESPs on their overall client delivery model and their ability to apply repeatable practices consistently to successfully manage long-term relationships with customers, thus supporting emerging business and IT challenges. We ask ESPs to explain the organizational structure and procedures they use to manage their accounts and resolve differences, escalate problems, and generally maintain a successful relationship with their customers. We also ask, "What is your style and approach to working in the client's cultural and political environment? How would you describe the roles of relationship management, contract management and service delivery management in an engagement?"

Customer Experience: We evaluate the relationships, products and services/programs that enable organizations to be successful with the service solutions evaluated. Specifically, this includes how organizations receive technical support or account support from their ESP. This can include ancillary tools, customer support programs (and the quality thereof), the availability of user groups, and SLAs. We ask ESPs to supply five references for the help desk services they provide.

Operations: We examine each ESP's ability to meet its goals and commitments. Factors include the quality of the organizational structure (such as skills, experiences, programs, systems, and other vehicles that enable the organization to operate effectively and efficiently on an ongoing basis). We evaluate two primary areas:

• SLAs: An effective performance measurement program is essential to determine whether the ESP is providing effective service delivery. We ask ESPs to explain their procedures for SLAs, "How do you arrive at reasonable service levels for your service recipients? Do you have penalties or incentives tied to SLAs? Do you measure customer satisfaction? If so, how are the results of the survey used?"
• Expertise with technical support/operations/tools: We evaluate the ESPs' depth and breadth in help desk service technology areas. Each ESP is evaluated on its skills and capabilities in help desk service environments, and on its capability to apply specific management toolsets and the associated personnel expertise to satisfy the needs of each deal. We ask, "What are the principal standards, solutions and systems that your company can manage in help desk service engagements? Exactly what help desk services do you provide? Do you have specialized operational processes or tools for help desk service management?"

Criteria Ranked Standard

Product or Service: We look at each ESP's core services that compete in or serve the defined market. The analysis includes service capabilities, quality, feature sets and skills, whether they are offered natively or through agreements or partnerships with OEMs, according to the market definition and detailed in the subcriteria. Two considerations are:

• Effective resourcing: We focus on the ESP's ability to provide the relevant resources effectively to the customer. We ask, "How do you decide on the resources required to support a customer? Do you have tools and procedures to assist with resource allocation? What are your current capabilities in terms of staff availability and facilities?"
• Transition management: We evaluate the ESP's investments in its people, focusing on what practices are in place to recruit, train and retain qualified staff. We ask, "What are the key skill sets and competencies of the resources? What changes in the skill set mix do you anticipate during the next two years?" We also judge ESPs on their capability to integrate staff from client organizations by offering competitive job opportunities — for example, addressing (in different countries) salary and benefits packages, retraining, career progression opportunities, and minimized disruption due to employee job location. We ask, "Do you have a quality process and project plan for transitions? What are your procedures for transitioning the workload to your facility? How do you handle the hiring of your customers' employees?"

Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy and Organization): Viability includes an assessment of the overall organization's financial health, the financial and practical success of the business unit, and the likelihood of the business unit to continue to invest in the service solution and advance the state of the art in the organization's service portfolio.

Market Responsiveness and Track Record: We look at each ESP's ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve competitive success, as opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolve and market dynamics change. This criterion also considers the provider's history of responsiveness and the client innovation that is noted below:

• Client innovation: We ask, "Assuming your company pays attention to emerging trends and developments in the help desk service marketplace, how is that knowledge shared with your clients? Do you provide advice and recommendations regarding innovations and tools to customers? If so, how are these presented? How do both parties meet their strategic and operational goals, and respond to business and technology changes? What examples of innovation and thought leadership have been brought to bear in client engagements? What are examples of future investments to stay ahead of the pack?" We also ask ESPs to explain their procedures for continuous improvement, "Do you use results from service levels to feed the continuous improvement process? How do you measure customer satisfaction? During the past 12 to 18 months, what innovations have you brought to market that have not been available previously?"

Each ESP's completeness of vision was analyzed according to the following criteria:

• Offering (product) strategy:
  • Practice area
  • Operational/tool expertise
• Business model:
  • Methodologies
  • Management acumen
• Market understanding
• Innovation
• Marketing strategy
• Sales strategy
• Vertical market/industry strategy
• Geographic strategy:
  • Regional capabilities
  • Alliances and partnerships

The Completeness of Vision axis reflects each ESP's prospects for success by analyzing its view of the market, service operating model, and strategic plans for growth and service improvements. Gartner verifies an ESP's vision regarding help desk services based on the ESP's presentation, as well as direct feedback from extensive interviews with the ESP's clients.

We ask each ESP many questions and evaluate each on its ability to articulate logical statements convincingly about market directions, innovations, customer needs and competitive forces. Ultimately, we rate ESPs on their understanding of how they can exploit market forces to create opportunities for themselves.

Each criterion is ranked high, standard or low in importance and scored accordingly.

Criteria Ranked High

Market Understanding: We ask each ESP to describe its strategic plan and vision as they relate to help desk services, as well as its commitment to aligning services with future market needs. We also ask, "How would you differentiate your strategic plan and vision from your competitors' strategic plan and vision? What is your company's heritage in this area? How long have help desk services been part of your service portfolio? How has it evolved and grown? How will it maintain a leading position in a challenging market?" We also evaluate ESPs evaluated on their ability to demonstrate a well-defined and well-articulated vision for assisting organizations in linking help desk services with enterprise technology and business strategies.

Offering (Product) Strategy: We evaluate two areas:

• Practice area: We evaluate the composition of practice areas serving clients that require help desk services, including relative size, revenue, number of seats supported, geographic reach, leadership of the management team and the team's position in the corporate structure.
• Operational/tool expertise: We ask, "Do you have specialized operational processes or tools? Are you using an ITIL process or another process to manage your workload? What operational tool expertise do you offer to customers?" We ask ESP references, "Does your service provider use, as part of the help desk solution for your engagement, automated password resets? Does your service provider have other self-help, self-healing tools (such as knowledge management databases of problem resolution) that your end-user community can use for assistance? Are they effective? Does your provider use remote diagnostic tools to assist it in resolving issues remotely prior to dispatch? Does it seem to help resolve problems?"

Business Model: We evaluate two factors:

• Methodologies: We ask each ESP for a high-level description of its help desk service delivery business model, "Is the model embedded in a larger methodology? How does this methodology link technology implementation to business objectives?" We review each ESP's procedures (operational, transitional, program management, relationship management and change management) that are provided to customers. We focus on the processes and best practices that the ESP implements for a smooth transition of systems, people and assets. We ask, "How do you ensure that the sourcing management processes are appropriate and effective for your various clients? How do you ensure that help desk services can deliver high-value services by supporting applications and business processes? Are processes to measure bottom-line business results (or value delivered via an optimized and agile IT infrastructure) embedded in the methodology? If so, what are the key features for measuring results? What practices are used to ensure and control quality?"
• Management acumen: An ESP's success can be associated directly with its management structure and the experience of its managers. Having good plans and the people to carry them out is an essential ingredient. Good deals for both parties happen when managers focus on ensuring that the deals meet their clients' needs and on satisfying the ESP's profit targets. We ask each ESP to explain the management teams it uses to support and manage customers. We also ask, "What is management's experience and skill levels? How are customer issues addressed? What are the experience and skill levels of executive management and the assigned key customer-facing managers? How are customer issues addressed? Does the customer have access to the appropriate level of management in the ESP?"

Criteria Ranked Standard

Innovation: We evaluate each ESP's position in the market as a "thought leader" and innovator. Each ESP is evaluated on its leadership and supporting investment to develop innovative strategies in the help desk service market. We ask, "How does your company stay current with new technology and tools? Do you have alliances with other suppliers? Do you offer innovative services to your customers (for example, adaptability and agility of the services, quality of the services, and ability in managing a long-term relationship)? How do you offer innovations to your customers? What investments is your company making to sustain and enhance its vision for innovative help desk services?"

Geographic Strategy: We evaluate two categories:

• Regional capabilities: We evaluate each ESP's strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of regions outside its "home" or native geography (directly or through partners, channels and subsidiaries) as appropriate for that geography and market.
• Alliances and partnerships: We evaluate ESPs' relationships with product providers or other service providers to add value, provide full-service solutions or bring innovation closer to their clients. ESPs are evaluated on the capability to demonstrate that they selected strategic relationships that are well-defined and successfully managed to operate in a client environment.

Criteria Ranked Low

Marketing Strategy: We evaluate each ESP's strategy and approach to the market and how they promote help desk services. We ask, "How many dedicated personnel do you have? How does your company measure the effectiveness of the business development model? What training do marketing people receive?" We evaluate ESPs' go-to-market strategy, including their capability to articulate their value proposition and differentiate their services. We also evaluate their penetration of industries and their capability to leverage vertical expertise in their sector and other sectors.

ESPs are also evaluated on their capability to demonstrate expertise in vertical markets and business processes, which are underpinned by help desk services. Each ESP is asked to supply a high-level sales organization chart to demonstrate its go-to-market strategy.

Sales Strategy: We evaluate each ESP's sales strategy and capability to sell help desk services. We ask, "How many dedicated personnel do you have? How does your company measure the effectiveness of the sales organization? What training do salespeople receive? What is your sales strategy for help desk services? Do you have standard sales processes, and do you use sales productivity tools? How do you respond to requests for proposals?"

Vertical/Industry Strategy: We evaluate ESPs' strategy to direct resources, and their skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of individual market segments, including vertical industries. We evaluate ESPs' penetration of industries and their capability to leverage vertical expertise in their sector and other sectors. We also evaluate their ability to demonstrate expertise in vertical markets and business processes, which are underpinned by help desk services.

ESPs in the Leaders quadrant are performing well, have a clear vision of market direction and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership positions in the market. From our analysis, the following ESPs (in alphabetical order) are leaders:

• Affiliated Computer Services (ACS)
• CompuCom
• CSC
• Dell
• EDS, an HP Company
• IBM
• Northrop Grumman
• Perot Systems
• Siemens IT Solutions and Services
• TechTeam
• Unisys
• Verizon Business

All these ESPs have demonstrated that they have significant help desk outsourcing experience and understand the dynamics needed to deliver help desk services successfully. Experience weighs heavily in the Leaders quadrant.

ESPs in the Challengers quadrant execute well. However, they have a less-defined view of market direction, so they may not be aggressive in preparing for the future. The following ESPs emerged as challengers:

• C3i
• CGI
• Ciber
• Genpact
• HCL Technologies
• Patni Computer Systems
• Pomeroy IT Solutions
• TCS
• Technisource
• Wipro Technologies

These ESPs demonstrated a solid base of satisfied help desk outsourcing clients. Overall, each ESP in the Challengers quadrant has great potential to become a market leader, if it can raise its strategic vision and broaden its service offerings to meet organizations' future needs.

ESPs in the Visionaries quadrant have a clear vision of market direction and are focused on preparing for that, but they can improve in optimizing service delivery. After we reviewed each ESP's completeness of vision, no service provider was placed in the Visionaries quadrant. This is a further indication of the market's maturity.

ESPs in the Niche Players quadrant focus on a particular segment of the client base, as defined by characteristics such as size, vertical-market focus or selective help desk service offerings. Their capability to outperform or be innovative may be affected by this narrow focus. As in the previous year, GlobalServe was the only vendor that provided specialized services (for example, break/fix support) and/or concentrated on the delivery of these services.

GlobalServe continues to concentrate on the global delivery of procurement of PCs, the related global PC support and associated help desk services. It focuses primarily on providing these services for international clients.

ESPs that appear in the Niche Players quadrant are viable options for organizations to consider for help desk outsourcing. In this Magic Quadrant, ESPs identified as niche players may have limited experience in the general or commercial North American markets, or they may provide only specific service offerings.

• ACS has a strong financial position. Its fiscal 2008 revenue was $6.16 billion.
• At its IT outsourcing technical service desk, ACS supports more than 2.7 million contacts annually.
• ACS is well-positioned for PC support, and this service often works well with help desk support. In 2008, ACS raised the number of PCs it supported worldwide from 200,000 to more than 350,000 PCs.

• ACS has improved but still got a few comments from references that ACS is not proactive in offering innovation. If an organization is looking for innovation, it should address this early and include it in the contract.
• There were also some comments regarding transition planning, and ACS's execution of transitions could be better. Gartner suggests that users make sure that they address transition planning and build it into the contract.

• C3i has a strong presence in the life science industry, primarily supporting CRM and clinical trials. The company is a good choice for that industry, because it has in-depth experience in this area.
• In 2009, C3i's position in the Challengers quadrant remained the same as the previous year's position, but now it supports more than 50,000 CRM end users and 90,000 end users for clinical trials in 140 countries and 20 languages.
• C3i made significant strides with ITIL practices in three of its sites: Denville, New Jersey; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; and Hyderabad, India, are ISO-certified.

• C3i continues to concentrate on commercial life science and clinical operation services. Therefore, for organizations outside of these vertical and/or related markets, C3i may not be the best candidate.
• References indicated that that they are not offered tools such as automatic password resets and self-help tools. Clients should examine whether these tools are appropriate and, if necessary, include them in their requirements.

• CGI is an IT outsourcing provider that has various degrees of global presence but with a North American focus; it remains a leading provider in Canada.
• In 2008, globally, CGI supported more than 3 million help desk calls, with more than 550 agents.
• In 2008, CGI reorganized to provide clients a single point of contact and to improve accountability and client intimacy.

• During 2008, CGI continues to make shifts to its IT delivery strategy, but it is still emerging. So Gartner continues to position CGI in the Challengers quadrant.
• Gartner continues to note that, although CGI is very strong in Canada, its help desk market penetration in the U.S. is still small. Therefore, U.S. clients should continue to evaluate CGI's delivery capabilities for support within the U.S.
• Innovation remains an issue, with some references asking CGI to be more proactive. Organizations signing deals with CGI should address innovation as a requirement in the contract.

• References strongly endorsed Ciber's marked customer focus and responsiveness to any client requests.
• In 2008, Ciber had more than 615 seats providing help desk support.
• Ciber earned $36 million in help desk revenue in 2008.

• As stated previously, Ciber's primary focus continues to be on application- and business-oriented practices; PC and help desk services are a primary service offering for its IT outsourcing division.
• Although clients are very happy with Ciber's technical skills and capabilities, they also indicate that sometimes the resources are strained to meet fluctuating requirements. Clients should ensure that they establish their resource requirements based on their business needs and build the resource requirements into the deal.
• Ciber has done a good job of implementing ITIL practices, but some references state that Ciber can still improve the way in which ITIL processes at the help desk interact and the overall deployment of ITIL processes.

• CompuCom has expanded its customer base with the acquisition of Getronics' North American division and again emerged as a leader in the desktop outsourcing and help desk Magic Quadrants.
• In 2008, CompuCom handled 5.4 million service desk incidents and supported more than 3.2 million outsourced desktop seats in North America.
• CompuCom's clients continue to rave about CompuCom's flexibility and strong relationship management methodologies and personnel.

• CompuCom's recent acquisition of Getronics' North American business expands its resource requirements. Client should be vigilant about changes in tools and procedures after the Getronics acquisition and during its operations consolidation activity.
• CompuCom continues to expand its global delivery capabilities; organizations seeking global delivery must verify that CompuCom offers offshore service capabilities that can satisfy their requirements.

• CSC continues to be a leader in help desk services, and it has a very strong vision for the future.
• CSC in the Americas supported 415,233 PCs and handled approximately 6.5 million help desk contacts in 2008.
• References were impressed with the strong repeatable processes and CSC's willingness to work through issues and not impact the end user.

• CSC plans a paradigm shift from labor arbitrage and process efficiency to service arbitrage and business process effectiveness. Gartner believes that implementing this shift during a recession can be very tough, when the focus is on cost cutting. Based on this model shift, clients should ensure that CSC implements the appropriate service levels to meet the client's requirements.
• CSC's strategy uses a tiered delivery model of outsource centers, low-cost global centers and dedicated delivery centers. Clients should make sure that they understand each of these options before deciding on what CSC delivery center to use.
• Some references indicate that they would like to see more innovation in CSC's delivery models. If a client wants innovation, Gartner recommends that clients make innovation an actual deliverable of the deal by setting clear areas of application (technical vs. business innovation) and by defining and acting on a precise innovation process.

• Based on client feedback, Dell's strategy to improve customer satisfaction and lower costs for the clients has been successful in 2008.
• Dell has also been successful at establishing global delivery locations. It now has Dell service desks in Oklahoma, Texas, India, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Panama, Scotland and Slovakia.
• In 2008, Dell provided desktop outsourcing services to more than 2.5 million seats, and it globally handled more than 250,000 help desk calls per month.

• Some references still have issues with the SOW regarding the areas of responsibility. Clients should ensure that clear roles of responsibility are included in their SOW.
• Many of the Dell references did not have service-level penalties. Most references said this was their choice, but Gartner still recommends that clients include service-level penalties in their deals.
• Dell continues to grow rapidly, and clients should ensure that Dell has the resources and skill levels needed for their support.

• EDS, after its acquisition by HP, continues to be one of the top leaders in help desk services, and references rate EDS's ability to deliver quality services as very high.
• EDS now supports nearly 5.4 million distributed PCs and handles more than 43 million help desk calls annually.
• EDS has 44 global contact centers and supports 35 languages.

• The ongoing merger of EDS and HP requires that clients ensure that their requirements are detailed and clearly documented to avoid any issues with service delivery.
• Although EDS provides good technical support, some references indicated that there is still room for improvement in its implementation of self-help and knowledge-based tools for help desk support. Gartner recommends that clients discuss their expectations and, if desired, include these tools in the deal.

• Genpact has delivered considerable business impact to clients by deploying a vision for their businesses, along with frameworks and methodologies to deliver this vision. Consequently, it leads the Challengers.
• With more than 10 years of experience in the IT help desk space, Genpact understands how to deliver help desk services to North American companies. It effectively understands North American end-user customers; this allows it to deliver consistently high-quality services, thus ensuring a high degree of client satisfaction.
• Genpact started as a captive Indian IT services company to support the GE family of companies but was spun off in 2006. Although Genpact still counts GE companies among its clients, its non-GE help desk client revenue base has grown by 30%.
• Genpact continues to excel with its methodologies, using lean Six Sigma practices.

• References had some comments this year regarding employee turnover at Genpact. Turnover is common, especially at the help desk, but clients should verify Genpact's use of a knowledge database and ensure that it has a good process for training new agents to support the client's requirements.
• References also mentioned that they would like Genpact to extend support by resolving more issues at the help desk. When negotiating the contract, clients should specify that they want to improve the resolution rate during the term of the contract. If this is agreed on, Genpact will have to monitor the incidents and find ways to improve the closure rates.
• Some references again mentioned that, although they were happy with Genpact relationship managers, they were not involved in the selection process. Clients should ensure not only that Genpact has good relationship management processes in place but also that clients have input on the key managers who are assigned to their account.

• The primary focus for GlobalServe is on supporting global companies. Although it serves North American companies, it also offers support to companies globally by enlisting and managing multiple subcontractors from countries worldwide.
• GlobalServe provides an alternative approach to service with its distributed international businesses. Because its focus continues to be primarily international, using a base of subcontractors, GlobalServe falls into the Niche Players quadrant.
• GlobalServe's customer goals are to assist customers with optimizing their business performance; to reduce the total cost of customer support through help desk support services; and to manage the entire desktop life cycle from procurement, to management, to the disposal of PCs.

• GlobalServe uses a network of subcontractors; therefore, organizations must have appropriate SLAs in place to ensure consistent quality.
• Clients of GlobalServe have noted concerns about the scope of the services that were available and relationship management skills. When negotiating the contract, clients should ensure that the scope of work is clearly defined and that approval of the relationship management team is part of the contract terms and conditions.

• HCL Technologies is a company that has a strong financial presence, with more than $5 billion in revenue.
• Help desk services are still emerging from India, but HCL is one of the leaders, and it handled, worldwide, more than 7 million help desk trouble tickets in 2008.
• HCL has service desks in five geographic locations, besides Raleigh, North Carolina, in the U.S. The other four locations are lower-cost alternatives: India, Northern Ireland, Poland and China.
• HCL has designed a best-practices framework during a typical engagement life cycle, which is benchmarked against the HDI Support Center maturity model to enable smooth and resilient delivery of help desk services.

• Although clients are very pleased with HCL's help desk services, some of the references mentioned that the SOW and the actual roles and responsibilities could be described better. Clients should ensure that the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and documented in the contract.
• Innovation continues to be an area where references felt more could be done. If clients want HCL to provide innovation, then these expectations must be clearly stated and included in the SOW.
• During transitions, HCL could improve its proactive communications. Clients can avoid this problem by making sure that they have a good transition plan and a process to review the transition at each step.

• IBM continues to be positioned as a leader in the help desk outsourcing Magic Quadrant for 2009.
• Worldwide, IBM receives more than 4.1 million help desk calls a month, and it manages and maintains more than 4.3 million desktops. In North America, these numbers are 1.5 million monthly calls and 2.3 million desktops supported.
• As noted in previous years, IBM is very good at leveraging processes, skills and leadership for its clients.

• IBM is considered a leader in the IT industry, but references felt that it was not very proactive at providing new approaches and ideas. Clients should request these services when they negotiate a deal.
• There have been some recent comments about help desk services being transferred to India and that the clients were not getting the same level of service as those provided domestically. Clients must make sure that, if they use an offshore delivery model, the service levels are established and there is a commitment from IBM to meeting their business requirements. Clients should ask for factual evidence of a continuous improvement process being implemented in their accounts and of support from the service centers.

• Northrop Grumman continues to retain its position in the Leaders quadrant, through maintaining its leadership position in the government sector, while growing its commercial business.
• Northrop Grumman continues to manage 1 million desktop seats and handles more than 2.5 million help desk calls annually.
• Northrop Grumman also continues to leverage industry-standard frameworks (such as ITIL, Capability Maturity Model Integration [CMMI], ISO 9000 and ISO 20000) and best practices under its quality initiatives.

• References cited innovation as an area that could be improved. Gartner recommends that clients develop a process for looking at technology upgrades and a process for Northrop Grumman to discuss and explore innovative ideas.
• Additionally, references reported some issues with Northrop Grumman changing resources. Clients must guarantee that they be notified when personnel changes occur.
• Although Northrop Grumman generally meets clients' transition requirements, some references complained about missed deadlines. Clients should make sure that they have a detailed transition plan and that Northrop Grumman is directed to deliver results.

• Patni has offered help desk services for more than six years, but this is the first time the vendor has appeared in this Magic Quadrant. The results of the study place Patni in the Challengers quadrant.
• Patni handles more than 2.4 million help desk calls per year. It continues to grow its business by 20% annually.
• Based on its application knowledge, Patni offers an integrated IT-business process outsourcing delivery framework to provide end-to-end help desk services for infrastructure, applications (SAP, Oracle and so on), high-tech companies, independent software vendors, IT storage and network products, and communications and media.

• Some references indicated that Patni has room for improvement in the implementation of self-help and knowledge-based tools for help desk support. Gartner recommends that clients discuss their expectations and, if the tools are desired, include them in the deal.
• Some Patni references noted issues with the lack of selection of their relationship managers. Clients should stress having a good relationship management process in place and the ability to review and have input in the selection of key help desk managers.
• Clients still feel that Patni is not as proactive about innovation. We advise clients to address innovation and the client's expectations throughout the term of the deal.

• Perot Systems, with more than 3 million help desk contacts, continues to perform as a leader in the help desk support Magic Quadrant in 2009.
• Perot Systems continues to provide 24/7 operations globally, with North American and European language capabilities and arbitrage benefits from nearshore and offshore delivery centers.
• Perot Systems further expanded its help desk locations; now, Plano, Texas; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Noida, India; Bangalore, India; Bucharest, Romania; and Guadalajara, Mexico, provide global support.

• References reported that the operational innovation was good, but they would like Perot Systems to be more proactive with new solutions. Clients should make sure that, if they are expecting innovation, they discuss and include this in the contract.
• Although satisfaction remains high, some references indicated that, during these tough economic times, they would like Perot Systems to be more flexible about adjusting the scope of the deal to match the client's changing business requirements. Gartner recommends that organizations and their service providers seek a mutually beneficial solution.
• Perot Systems continues to focus on certain industry sectors, such as healthcare, government, engineering and manufacturing, financial services, insurance, and consumer products and services. Organizations that are not in these sectors must ensure, through reference checks, that Perot Systems demonstrates required expertise to support their needs.

• Pomeroy has implemented ITIL processes and other quality processes to improve significantly its ability to execute. It also continues to progress toward a more comprehensive vision.
• Pomeroy annually supports more than 3.37 million help desk incidents and more than 1.2 million desktop events.
• References are generally happy with Pomeroy's flexibility and willingness to provide extra support under the existing blanket contract.

• This year, Pomeroy's references reported some issues with relationship management and the changes of staff. Clients should be notified of changes and should have input in the placement of key management staff on their accounts.
• Pomeroy references also had issues with innovation and would like Pomeroy to share new ideas. Clients should ensure that there is a plan for the proactive delivery of innovation.
• Some references expressed interest in improvements to Pomeroy's technical skills and the availability of more-automated help desk support tools. Before signing a contract, clients should review Pomeroy's technical skills and the potential tools that Pomeroy will employ.

• In North America, Siemens IT Solutions and Services had revenue of more than $740 million and remains in the Leaders quadrant.
• Siemens handles on a worldwide basis 32 million incidents, of which 8 million originate in North America. Siemens supports more than 2 million desktop users in the U.S. annually.
• Siemens references quote that they are impressed with Siemens' flexibility and its operational day-to-day excellence.

• References reported they would like to see some broadening of the geographic coverage that Siemens supports. Clients must be very clear about their business direction and plans to expand to new geographic regions so that they can develop Siemens' support for these new locations.
• There were some comments about innovation and seeking Siemens to present new capabilities. If clients want innovation, they should address this early on with Siemens and include this in the contract.

• TCS has a very strong strategic plan for infrastructure support and how it will service and grow the North American market.
• TCS supports more than 500,000 desktop users and handles more than 5 million help desk calls per year worldwide.
• TCS references were very complimentary about TCS's streamlined processes and sound methodologies.

• References mentioned that innovation continues to be an area where more could be done. If clients want TCS to provide innovation, these expectations should be clearly stated and included in the SOW.
• Some references also had some issues with the transition process. Clients can avoid this problem by making sure that they have a good transition plan and that TCS is committed to the deliverables.

• Spherion purchased Technisource at the end of 2007, and during 2008, it was able to streamline and integrate the solutions, while growing the business.
• The Technisource organization now supports 1 million end users and handles more than 3 million service events per year.
• Technisource now has five help desk centers and has expanded its capabilities for on-site, off-site and blended solutions.

• Overall, Technisource brought some basic innovation to the deal, but clients would still like to see Technisource to be a little more proactive. Clients should identify their expectations and work with Technisource to adopt new technologies.
• When services are provided on the client's site, references mentioned the lack of tools to support their help desks. We suggest that the client explore the tools available from Technisource and ask for the appropriate tools.

• TechTeam supports more than 420,000 desktop users and takes more than 3 million North American help desk calls annually.
• Client references cited TechTeam's strong customer focus.
• Additionally, client references were significantly satisfied with TechTeam's flexibility to work through clients' issues and challenges.
• TechTeam has programs for the delivery of quality services in the form of ISO 9001:2000 certification, ITIL-based frameworks and lean Six Sigma.

• Although client references indicated that the agent turnover rate has improved, it remains an issue to be addressed. Gartner recommends that organizations make sure that the turnover rate is measured as a behavioral driver in the contract, through implementing penalties and incentives for meeting or missing performance goals.
• TechTeam supports 32 languages, yet we still had some feedback from customers asking for more global coverage. If clients need worldwide coverage, they should verify with TechTeam its capabilities to support the client's specific requirements.

• In 2008, Unisys handled 11.5 million help desk and desktop calls worldwide; 47% were North American. This includes calls originating in North America, which were handled out of the Unisys center in Bangalore, India.
• Unisys references were especially satisfied with Unisys' willingness to own issues and work toward the satisfaction of both parties.
• References also cited that Unisys provided real value in innovation and introduction to ITIL service management processes.

• References were very pleased and raved about the high quality of domestic Unisys resources, but they were unsure of the quality that was delivered from Unisys in India. Clients that are considering offshoring to India should make sure that they have service-level commitments to deliver the same quality as domestic resources.
• Some references also noted issues with incident and asset management. Clients should make sure that the appropriate processes and tools are implemented to meet their business requirements.

• Verizon Business handles an average of 325,000 monthly help desk contacts, supporting more than 375,000 users.
• In 2008, Verizon Business' help desk service contracts increased by 20%.
• Verizon Business continues to leverage its IT service desk as a single point of contact for enterprise customers with strategic outsourcing deals.

• Some Verizon Business references had issues with innovation and want Verizon Business to be more proactive. Clients should ensure that there is an innovation plan that stresses the proactive delivery of services.
• Some references reported some minor concerns with the use of automated tools. Based on these comments, clients should ensure that they review Verizon Business' experience with the various tools and the support that it offers.

• Wipro handles more than 8.5 million help desk contacts annually and supports more than 1.5 million desktop devices.
• References cited Wipro's ability to create a business case, with a new mix of resources to demonstrate economic advantages.
• References were also impressed with the strong management commitment and the detailed processes and methodologies that Wipro supplied.

• References reported some minor issues with transitions and management turnover. Clients should make sure that they have a good transition plan as well as processes in place to review changes in management.
• There were some comments about innovation; clients want Wipro to "look at the big picture" and make suggestions. If clients want innovation, they should address this early on with Wipro and set expectations.